


"Penniless"

by farad



Category: Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-23
Updated: 2012-10-23
Packaged: 2017-11-16 21:09:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/543831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/farad/pseuds/farad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the Second Daybook Bingo prompt "opposites attract" and for the Awesome Randi's Birthday!</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Penniless"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [randi2204](https://archiveofourown.org/users/randi2204/gifts).



> JoJo is awesome! All mistakes my own!

"He has no money." Ezra stared out the window of the saloon, his fingers clasped so tightly around his glass that his knuckles were white. "I thought she was trying to embarrass me, but this – this is going too far."

Chris watched him, sipping from his own glass and hiding the grin he couldn't seem to shake. "Could be she likes him," he said, keeping his eyes on the table. He wasn't sure he could control his reaction if he looked out the window and saw Josiah and Maude parading down the boardwalk. At least they weren't on this side, where they would pass so closely in front of the saloon. Instead, they were on the other side of the street, perusing the goods at Watson's Hardware – which made Chris smile even more. Maude was hardly a 'hardware' sort of person, which meant she was waiting around for Josiah.

And that idea - 

"She can't possibly – whatever in the world does she think she's doing?"

"Well," Chris said, reaching for the whiskey bottle and refilling his glass, which didn't really need it, then reaching out to refill Ezra's, which did, "maybe it's got nothing to do with you."

The bottle wasn't even settled on the table when he felt the heat from Ezra's glare scalding his face. The words that followed were no less hot for all their softness. "Then whatever else could it be? Are you seriously suggesting that she has some ulterior motive? That there is actually some thing that she could see in Josiah that she could value?"

Chris sipped on his whiskey, letting his gaze rest on the table before he braved the dangers of answering the question. Slowly, though, he looked up, swirling the amber liquid in his glass as he considered his answer. "Never know where you're going to find a matching gun belt and revolvers at a discount price. Value is in the eye of the person buying, not the person selling."

Ezra's gaze was like green ice, hard and cold, and Chris thought he might need an icepick to cut through. He was wondering how he could melt it when the chill thawed, just a little, and Ezra said with less anger, "She does love a good bargain. It might make her consider something that she might not otherwise have an interest in."

Chris smiled, lifting his glass in a salute. "Like mother, like son," he said, holding Ezra's gaze for a few seconds before lightening the mood. "Though I promise you, we're not spending our alone-time on the boardwalk at Watson's, shopping for whatnots."

For an instant, Ezra's eyes widened in what Chris thought might be anger. But before he could say anything, Ezra's lips twisted into a grin. "No, that would be a great waste of precious time." With that, he downed the rest of his drink and stood, putting his hat on his head and shrugging to settle his coat on his shoulders. Before Chris realized it, Ezra had reached out and picked up the whiskey bottle. "I find myself disinterested in plundering through the wares of the boardwalk," he said evenly. "Perhaps an afternoon nap is in order."

Chris raised an eyebrow, not quite certain that the words meant what he thought – hoped – they might mean. But before he could find a way to tactfully ask the question, Ezra bent slightly over the table and said more quietly but no less clearly, "Though I do have a singularly impressive whatnot worthy of consideration to the right person. Perhaps you'd like to examine it?"

Chris slugged back the rest of his drink, the glass clunking against the table as he set it down and got to his own feet. "Lead on," he said. "Don't want to have to worry about a – whatnot."

Ezra touched the brim of his hat as he led the way through the saloon toward the stairs. Chris followed, but he gave one more glance out the saloon window to the street across the way. Josiah stood, one big hand politely cupping Maude's arm as she looked into a bin of - well, something. Whatnots, perhaps. 

Or not. Perhaps she had found the whatnot she really wanted and was waiting around to take it home. It was a thought Chris could appreciate. Even if sometimes, the person with the whatnot was damned hard to understand. 

But then, sometimes, that was fun, too.


End file.
